Robbie Rogers is about to become the first openly gay athlete in a major American professional sport.

The LA Galaxy announced they have acquired the former U.S. international from the Chicago Fire in exchange for Mike Magee. Rogers had been training with the Galaxy in recent weeks and expressed a desire to play close to his family after coming back from a brief spell away from the game.

Robbie Rogers will be the first openly gay male athlete to play in a major sport in the U.S.

“We initially acquired the rights to Robbie Rogers because we think he is a great player,” said Fire president of soccer operations Javier Leon. “As he expressed his interest in being home near his family, we’re happy to have worked out a deal with the Galaxy that will benefit all parties. We wish Robbie all the best with the Galaxy.”

Rogers played five seasons with the Columbus Crew before moving to England with Leeds United in 2011. His season in the UK was marred by an injury, and he announced he was stepping away from soccer in a blog post in February, in which he also came out as gay.

The Fire acquired Rogers’ rights in a trade with Columbus on Feb. 4, 2013.

Magee is in his 11th MLS season and has scored six goals in the campaign so far, just one off his career high.